Not 10-4, but "Roger"

Not “10-4” but “Roger”

He called me and wanted to know if he could park his motor home on the church property. He said it would be for a few weeks. Since I had more important “fish to fry”, after a brief conversation I said, “OK”. Then Roger arrived. The motor home had seen better days, as had “Roger”. Once the motor home was appropriately hooked up I began to ask about the well-worn pickup with its “salvage” contents. It seems that Roger collects old cars (no not antiques) and hauls them to the scrap yard. Once he has collected a few dollars for one car he finds and hauls another, then another. In the evening, he parks his car hauling truck and trailer by his motor home on the back of the church property. Roger has a wife (I think). When he did not come “home” last Tue. night she greeted me early wed. Am. Wanting to know if she could use the church phone to try to track him down. I asked her if this happened very often (him simply not coming home at night) she assured me that it had not happened for many years. She was crying as she explained, and I put a reassuring arm around her shoulder (an obvious mistake at that point). She was able to get the answers that satisfied her after a few phone calls. It seems Roger had run out of gas and slept in the pick up over night.

As he pulled into the church property with his beat up truck, ratty trailer, and very grease stained clothes…. Well I truly “looked down on him”. I thought, what on earth am I doing letting these people stay on our church property. They are living from hand to mouth, and who knows, they may steal from us even though they sincerely talked about perhaps attending church. His fairly long graying hair put him in my “Vietnam” generation, but his life at this point put him light years from how I live. I looked down on him, and his salvage operation.

In the midst of my “superior” thoughts, along came God The Holy Spirit and said: Hey Richard … yeah you! You are only a couple of decisions from living the life he lives. That’s right. You could have made a couple of decisions, not a lot, just a few decisions, and that would be you hauling junk and living in a worn out motor home, in a day to day existence.

The whole rest of the day I was uncomfortable. I could not say; “Oh God please forgive me”, often enough. In fact the words echoed through my mind and heart like through some desolate cave. Again and again and again I cried, as I do at this very moment; “Oh my Lord please forgive me”. Roger matters to you; his wife matters to you; and I have a very, very strong feeling deep down inside that if I am going to claim your peace again … he had better matter to me.

Today I had a very good conversation with Roger and his wife. I like them.

Peace …. Peace River Wesleyan Church …. Port Charlotte, Fl …. Richard Lauby

4-7-06